March 5, 2008
NEW HAVEN, Conn. - In each of No. 10 Yale's first two games, the Bulldogs fell behind early but eventually rallied for one-goal wins. On Wednesday that pattern caught up to them. After rallying from a four-goal deficit to tie New Hampshire at seven with 10:27 to play, the Bulldogs watched speedy UNH attacker Shaunna Kaplan take the ensuing draw control in for a score seven seconds later. The Wildcats then held on for the win, 8-7.
"New Hampshire capitalized on our mistakes very effectively," said Laura Field, Yale's Joel E. Smilow '54 Head Coach of Women's Lacrosse. "They made something out of every opportunity they had. They are a very athletic team with speed and quickness."
Yale (2-1) fell behind quickly, as New Hampshire scored three times in the game's first 12 minutes. Only a save by senior goalkeeper Ellen Cameron on a free-position shot by New Hampshire attacker Moira Talbot kept the score from being 4-0.
After senior attacker Meredith Callahan fed senior midfielder Lauren Taylor in front for the Bulldogs' first goal, the Wildcats scored three of the next four goals -- including one where Kaplan took a draw control down the field to score nine seconds after another UNH goal -- to take a 6-2 lead.
Taylor scored a pair of goals before halftime to bring Yale within two, but the Wildcats won the draw to start the second half and midfielder Michaela Hardy fed Kaplan to make the score 7-4.
Senior midfielder Kat Peetz' free-position goal with 18:23 left pulled Yale within two, and after senior defender Jess Champion caused a turnover and junior midfielder Jenn Warden got the ground ball Taylor earned a free-position shot that she converted to make it 7-6 with 16:29 remaining.
The Wildcats began slowing the game down at that point, but freshman defender Kaitlyn Flatley thwarted that strategy by causing a turnover with a stick check behind the Yale goal with 12:30 left.
Two minutes later Taylor scored to tie the game, but Kaplan's goal seven seconds after that re-energized the upset-minded Wildcats.
"It's definitely disheartening when a team scores a goal that quickly after you've scored," said Field. "But we need to learn from that and be able to do the same thing to our opponents."
New Hampshire goalie Ashley Milley made the biggest of her eight saves by denying a hard-charging Warden right in front of the cage with five minutes to play.
The Bulldogs had two possessions in the final two minutes, but after a shot by Taylor sailed high Yale turned the ball over with 90 seconds left. A charging call against the Wildcats gave Yale another chance with 30 seconds left, but the Bulldogs turned the ball over again and UNH ran out the clock.
The loss snapped a string of 13 straight wins at Johnson Field for Yale.
Taylor's six goals were the most by a Bulldog since she scored seven vs. Columbia last April, but having her shoulder the overwhelming majority of the scoring load was not what Yale planned.
"While it is great to have Lauren score six goals, what made us successful in our first two games was our ability to spread the wealth," Field said. "We did not make great decisions with the ball today. Still, it is a long season and this is definitely something we can come back from."
Yale (2-1) travels to BC Saturday for a 1:00 game that will be played at Westwood High School's Flahive Field, as BC's Newton Campus Field is being remodeled.
report by Sam Rubin '95, Yale Sports Publicity
